Personally, we enjoy reviewing Mara Hoffman’s runway collections—they never fail to spice up our day with a little color and fun. But lately Hoffman has been growing more serious, trading in her iconic rainbow colorways and beachside aesthetics for a more sophisticated look. And we sort of love it. It’s a matured use of her colors and textures, and really no one can pull it off quite like she can. For the Fall 2015 ready-to-wear collection, Hoffman uses multiple sources of inspiration including Charles Fréger's book Wilder Mann, a look at the “wild men” of Europe. Oh, and Star Wars.
Blending the idea of wild terrains and the other worldly landscapes, both here and in a galaxy far, far away, Hoffman uses the dusty hues and muted colors of Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine as a way of capturing the science fiction element. The show had no laser blasters, metallic androids or technological elements to hint at the collection’s sci-fi inspiration. Instead she expands on the ‘70s draping and monochromatic minimalism of the saga’s fourth episode.
Colors are either dusty beige or the rich hues of desert sunsets. Fabric is unrestrictive, and Hoffman uses textures for dimension rather than the bright, busy patterns she has relied on so often in the past. "We're known so much for our prints and swim, so Fall is really our time to stand up and show our diversity," Hoffman told Style.com. Her beach-ready braids were transformed into modern takes on the Princess Leia bun, and wrapped around each model’s head in a messy, unstructured crown.
Trying not to let our personal feelings for either Hoffman or Star Wars sway our review (which is practically impossible), we have to say this was a surprisingly wonderful collection. It’s rare that a designer can step so far out of her comfort zone and still succeed in conveying not only her artistic intention, but also have her own personal aesthetics come through so unaltered. We have never seen a designer take on the fashion styling of Star Wars without the use of metallics, droid-inspired designs or images of the characters. It was a refreshing look at the science fiction genre.
